Court of Appeals: Árpád Habony qualifies as a public figure

The Budapest-Capital Regional Court of Appeals has decided that Árpád Habony, the unofficial adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, qualifies as a public figure and can therefore be depicted in political advertising, reports napi.hu.

The court’s final judgement concerned Habony’s appearance on billboards produced by radical-right party Jobbik, along with Orbán, propaganda minister Antal Rogán and Orbán’s friend and suspected straw man Lőrinc Mészáros. Habony sued Jobbik over using his likeness in the billboards, arguing he was not a public figure, but the appeals court decided against Habony after a lower court also ruled in Jobbik’s favor.

Jobbik’s billboards were banned when the Fidesz-KDNP-controlled parliament adopted a modification of the law protecting settlements in late June prohibiting political parties from posting political ads outside campaign periods.